The Government of Catalonia has awarded in a ceremony at the Palau de la Generalitat the Gold Medal of the Government of Catalonia to Caterina Biscari, Director of the ALBA Synchrotron since 2012, in recognition of her scientific and professional career and her contribution to the development and visibility of research carried out in Catalonia. This year, the distinction has also been awarded to chef Ferran Adrià, Catalan chef with three Michelin stars.
The Gold Medal is the highest distinction awarded by the Government of Catalonia and recognises individuals who have rendered eminent and extraordinary services to Catalonia in the political, social, economic, cultural or scientific fields.
In granting the award, the Government highlights how Caterina Biscari's career combines scientific excellence, service to society and collaborative leadership, and acknowledges her contribution to strengthening the visibility of research carried out in Catalonia. It also remarks her influence as a role model for women in science and her contribution to increasing their visibility in decision-making bodies within European research.
Relationship with ICMAB
The relationship between ALBA and ICMAB goes quite far in time, up to the very beginning of it:
ICMAB was part of their first ever experiment. From then on, ICMAB has conducted experiments in practically every beamline of ALBA, collaborating with many of their research groups.
Our last collaboration was inaugurated only last year: the InCAEM facilities. In-CAEM (In situ Correlative Facility for Advanced Energy Materials) was born as a pioneering platform in Europe that will allow the scientific and industrial community to study materials under real operando conditions and with an unprecedented level of resolution and detail. This new microscopy platform, InCAEM (In-situ Correlative Facility for Advanced Energy Materials) was the project selected in Catalonia, as part of the "Advanced Materials" program of Planes Complementarios. This new microscopy platform will be unique and will offer outstanding opportunities in the area of 2d materials and advanced materials for energy. InCAEM is coordinated by the ALBA Synchrotron and counts with the following partners: the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), the Materials Science Institute of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) and the Port d'Informació Científica (PIC)-Institute of High Energy Physics (IFAE).
It was this May when ICMAB had its 40th anniversary event. In that, we had the pleasure of hearing some words from Caterina herself: you can watch what she said here.
About Caterina Biscari
Born in Sicily in 1957, Caterina Biscari graduated in Physics from the Complutense University of Madrid and earned her PhD from the University of Naples Federico II with a thesis on accelerator physics developed in collaboration with the University of Paris and CERN. Her scientific career has been characterized by international cooperation and by her ability to build large-scale joint projects.
After working at CERN and the Frascati National Laboratories, and participating in projects such as the National Centre for Oncological Hadrontherapy in Pavia, she moved to Barcelona in 2012 to lead the ALBA Synchrotron. Biscari spearheaded the consolidation of the facility, the expansion of its scientific capabilities, and the development of a culture of excellence based on attracting talent and earning the trust of the research community.
During her tenure at the helm of ALBA, the number of beamlines has grown from seven to fourteen, and the cumulative user community has exceeded 10,000 researchers. The facility has hosted thousands of experiments in fields including healthcare, new materials, energy, the environment, cultural heritage, and drug development, while more than one hundred companies regularly use its instruments.
Biscari also drove the creation of LEAPS, the network of major European synchrotron light sources and free-electron laser facilities, and has served on scientific and advisory committees of leading international institutions. Among the most significant achievements of her tenure is the advancement of ALBA II, the project that will transform the facility into a fourth-generation light source and expand its scientific capabilities.
Her career combines scientific excellence, service to society, and collaborative leadership. Biscari has also been a role model for women in science and has helped raise the visibility of women in research decision-making bodies across Europe. Among other distinctions, she has been named a Fellow of the European Physical Society and has received the Order of the Star of Italy and the Narcís Monturiol Medal from the Government of Catalonia.
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Caterina Biscari awarded the Gold Medal of the Government of Catalonia - ALBA Synchrotron
Caterina Biscari rep la Medalla d’Or de la Generalitat
El Govern lliura la Medalla d'Or de la Gener... - Govern.cat
